����Ӱҵ

I am the Vice President of Movement Building at the nonprofit organization where our mission is to end hate and harassment in all its forms and create a world filled with humanity. I am also the co-author of 

At Right To Be, our work focuses on providing folks with resources and training on Bystander Intervention, Conflict De-escalation, Resilience Building, and Mitigating Implicit Bias, to name a few.  We also collect stories of harassment and bystander intervention in our storytelling platform, the . Here we provide folks space to raise awareness, practice resilience, and heal through reclaiming the narrative of what they experienced or witnessed, and giving them the opportunity to show folks who experienced harm support. Recently, we received funding from the Scripps Howard Foundation and The Craig Newmark Foundation to create an e-Learning on how to be an ally when you witness online abuse for journalism students.

"After graduating, I kept working at the hospital doing parent-child play interventions for a bit. I moved back to California, and have been working at my hometown elementary school district in the Special Education department. The question I get most consistently is "What did you study in New York?" It is incredibly difficult to capture everything I learned in this M.A. program in a quick response. The freedom that came with this interdisciplinary program pushed me to look at my life in new ways and understand how interconnected our struggles for liberation are. It has also redefined my standards for academic programs. The dedication from the professors and students at ����Ӱҵ was special, and I've learned more than I ever thought possible. I'd eventually like to return to academia, but I'm taking care to find a program that I'll love as much as the Study of the Americas."

Tristan Franz is currently a coordinator for an education program within the Office for Diversity & Inclusion at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, working with high-performing high school students at the Center for Excellence in Youth Education. Additionally, he teaches an interdisciplinary capstone course (Diversity) at Southern New Hampshire University and continues to write on topics inspired by his time in the M.A. program. He writes that the program "broadened my understanding of epistemological conflicts and led me to explore new fields of inquiry such as decolonial ecology."

Brian Funes is Senior Trainer (Vice President) at Citibank, N.A. He works directly for the Learning and Development team under the Human Resources Dept. Of the program, Brian writes “it has equipped me with the right tool to become an independent and a mature scholar within the 21st century.”

Albert Garcia is an Adjunct Instructor at the CUNY's Lehman College. In the Fall 2022, Albert began his Ph.D. in Sociology at The CUNY Graduate Center. He is motivated by how processes of power influence how marginalized communities interact in and navigate social spaces. He writes that “The M.A. in the Study of the Americas primarily allowed me to find my footing in academia. Woven into the program, is a focus on the students’ personhood. This emphasis encourages strong professor/student relationships and a personal investment into the intellectual conversations.”

Pedro Gonzalez teaches 4th grade at East Harlem Scholars Academy II, where he received the Staff Impact Award for 2021-2022. He is an active member of the equity team, where he plays a crucial role in facilitating professional development sessions about our school's alignment to anti-racism. Pedro is also completing Master’s program in General and Special Education at Hunter College. He writes that his experience in the program changed him: “The freedom and support I received not only help me achieve my goals; it sparked a continuous love of learning that I cherish and strive to share with every scholar I encounter.”  Pedro is a member of the equity team responsible for facilitating professional development sessions about his school's alignment with antiracism.

Mohammed Haque focused his program of study on Muslims and Islam in the Americas. He is currently a social studies teacher in the NYC public school system and plans to pursue a Ph.D. He writes that “The M.A. in the Study of the Americas broadened my scope and understanding in the shaping of the narrative of the Americas.”

Bonnie H. Ip, is a doctoral student in Sociology at the Graduate Center and an  at the  (CMS). She is currently working on her dissertation, which is a qualitative study about the experiences of people who were raised by immigrants who are now raising families of their own. She also conducts research on immigrant enclaves, including New York City’s Chinatowns. Bonnie is a 2023 Futures Initiative research's Dr. Louise Lennihan Arts & Sciences Grant awardee and has taught at Hunter College and Queens College. 

David Jacobsen is an award-winning executive producer and industry leader in experience marketing. Notably leading HBO's massive SXSW activations for the launch of Westworld's second season and the last season of Game of Thrones, David is no stranger to ambitious storytelling for global entertainment brands.

Before joining Civic, he served as Head of Production at Invisible North, and was the founding Head of Production for Giant Spoon NY's experiential offering, where his work led the agency to multiple awards including a Cannes Titanium Lion, Clios, and an Emmy.  David also worked on the historic centennial of the National Park Service campaign while at GREY and was core to the entertainment team at LeadDog Marketing Group, where he produced content-rich experiences for Syfy, Turner, IFC, and People En Español. 

At Civic, David heads up the production department and manages our best-in-class vendors, partners, and area experts. A Colombian-native, he is bilingual, and holds a BA in Political Theory & Gender Studies from the University of New Hampshire and a Masters in the Study of the Americas from ����Ӱҵ. While at UNH, he certainly developed his passion for politics and even took time off to work as a field organizer in Hillary Clinton's first primary run in 2007 against President Obama in New Hampshire and organizing around the country through the general.

Sherley works at SUNY FIT, serving as both speechwriter and project coordinator for the president. She writes “The M.A. in the Study of the Americas has been a gift to my writing. I would recommend the program to fiction and non-fiction writers who wish to write about the Caribbean and Latin America from a different perspective."

"Since graduation, I received my M.A. in Special Education with a focus in history; I currently teach at a high school in the South Bronx. My refusal to become complacent has led me to pursue an M.A. in school/district leadership with the intent to making the shift to administration in the fall. My experiences at City College helped me to foster a love of learning. The professors provided the much-needed support for someone like myself who never envisioned returning to college after my undergraduate degree. The professors were hands on and became my mentors and support system. Even to this day, I am able to reach out to them with any questions that may arise. They have been instrumental in my progression and without them, I do not believe I would have accomplished all of the things I have achieved up until this point. In addition, the flexibility of the program was key to assisting in this process as I attended classes after work at my own pace. Over the course of the next year, my goal is to return to school again for my Ph.D., either for Educational Administration, American History or Ethnic studies. Regardless of what route I take, I am confident that the relationships I have made with my professors will carry me through that phase as well.”

As a software developer and entrepreneur, Roberto decided to create (CICO) an on demand SaaS for EVV Electronic Visit Verification to help businesses manage remote employee work time easily and stay compliant with the 21st Century Cures Act. He also teaches courses on computing and healthcare in the Department of Continuing Education at Kingsborough Community College‎. He writes "I encourage any student, regardless of academic background to consider the M.A. in Study of the Americas. Obtaining this degree truly changed my life; it provided a well-needed understanding of the political, civic, economic and cultural diversity of the Americas. The professors are very dedicated—is a blessing to have been part of this program.”

Lara Rodriguez-Delgado completed her